Baltic Conference , 2004

“Strategies for the Ecological Rehabilitation of Panel Buildings / Passive House Technology in Panel Buildings”

The Baltic Conference was held at the Latvian Academy of Science on Energy Efficient Performance in Housing with the intention to assess the energy demands of housing in Baltic States and to offer solutions for improvement. The conference also served as a means to exchange information and experience to transfer them to experts from the Baltic regions.

In regard of the Kyoto Protocol it´s important to assess the energy saving potential of European cities, especially the ones with a big potential such as in Central and Eastern Europe. In the Ukraine and the Czech Republic, for example, a major part of the buildings are panel buildings in need of improvement.

In the conference Dr. Lari presented his study of “Strategies for the Ecological Rehabilitation of Panel Buildings / Passive House Technology in Panel Buildings”, a pilot project planned in Brno, Czech Republic with three typical panel buildings. This project creates a flexible model for rehabilitation, which can be serially applied to various types of prefabricated housing. It established the foundation for strategies aimed at ecological, energy-efficient rehabilitation of residential buildings. Similar projects of this kind with passive house technology were later on conducted in Latvia in collaboration with EKODOMA, including the same procedures. The most important features of the improvements applied to the panel buildings were insulation of the building shell and the roof, central heating regulation, increased natural lighting and greenery / landscaping as well as replacement or repair of windows. Furthermore the inhabitants were handed a hand-book about better energy use in the building.